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January 2010 We were approached by the father of a 5 year old girl who suffers room a rare neuromuscular condition called Nemaline Rod Myopathy. This means that she has profound muscular weakness leading to severe chest infections and which renders her immobile. She has to use a non-invasive ventilator overnight and also needs other equipment such as, nebuliser and suction machine as well as a powered wheelchair and profiling bed.  Her parents are very worried that Tariq will suffer should they have a power cur (which happens quite often where they live) as none of her equipment will work without electricity.  The ACT Foundation were very pleased to be able to help with the purchase of a backup generator.   

 

January 2010 Audrey is a 55 year old lady who has had cancer twice and also suffered a stroke as a result of a heart operation.  She has been left with fine motor skill problems in her left hand and needs to wear a specially fitted supportive glove which positions her hand and gives sensory feedback.  Unfortunately this equipment is not available through the NHS and has to be funded privately and replaced every 12 month or so.  We were very happy to be able to award a grant of £135 to pay for the glove.

 

January 2010 Jonathan is a young man from Hampshire who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and as a result is wheelchair dependent and very prone to chest infections due to muscle wastage.  He has reduced ability to remove chest secretions by coughing  and has been advised that a Cough Assist Machine will help alleviate further chest infections which is the greatest cause of death in the late stages of his condition.

We were able to help Jonathon with his fundraising by pledging £1,750 towards the cost of this much needed piece of equipment.

    

December 2009 Oak View is a special school based in Essex for children aged 3-19 who have severe or profound learning difficulties, they may also have learning needs within the Autistic spectrum.  They currently have 63 students and hydrotherapy benefits at least 50% of them.  The students currently have to be transported to a pool in Epping which takes up to 3 hours out of their day (2 of which is travelling time).  We were approached by The Friends of Oak View School to enquire if we would be able to help with a project to open a hydrotherapy pool on the school site.  When not being used by the school, the pool would also be used by elderly people in the area as well as providing an income by being offered to young families through a baby swimming club.  Fundraising is well underway and The ACT Foundation were able to help this along with a Pledge of £5,000.

December 2009 Molly is a 4 year old girl from Yorkshire who has severe cerebral palsy and is quadriplegic.  The family have been awarded a Disability Facilities Grant of £30,000 to create a bedroom and bathroom for Molly but the family have had to move out of the house whilst the work was completed.  The grant they received did not cover costs for replacing carpets or for decorating and the family were unable to move back in until this work was completed.  The ACT Foundation were happy to help with a grant of £2,000 to help with these costs.

December 2009Wherever the Need is a charity that is UK based and whose primary focus is helping with sanitation, water, livelihood and empowerment to disadvantaged and  impoverished people .We were approached by them to see if we could help undertake a hygiene programme developing sanitation and fresh water facilities in Madalapattu Panchayat, near Pondicherry in India.Housing in this community is of poor quality and basic hygiene facilities do not exist.This leads to contamination of water supplies, disease and lack of self respect and dignity.The project would provide clean drinking water and eco-toilets as well as helping to establish a seamstress business making clothes and leather bags for sale.This project will take 18 months to complete and will benefits 1,250 people by providing sanitation and water facilities â something that we in the UK take for granted.The ACT Foundation were very pleased to pledge £30,000 towards this deserving project.    

November 2009 Scott is a 25 year old who was born with Cerebral Palsy, is non-verbal and has learning difficulties.  Despite his disabilities, he loves going out with his family to new places and seeing new things.  Unfortunately if he has to travel in the family car for any length of time, he tends to slip over in the seat as he is unable to support himself for very long.  His mother then has to stop the vehicle to re-position him before continuing the journey.  We were asked if we would be able to help purchase a Burnett Support System for Scott which will alleviate the problem and improve his posture, support and safety.  We were very happy to oblige with a grant of £533.

November 2009 We were approached by the mother and carer of a 42 year old lady who has a degenerative neurological disorder which has rendered her totally immobile and needing 24 hour care.  She was assessed as needing a specialist supportive chair with head, trunk and leg supports that would meet all her postural and static seating needs.  Unfortunately these chairs are not available on NHS so we were very glad to be able to help out with a grant of £1900 towards the chair.

November 2009 The Scottish Spina Bifida Association is a charity based in Glasgow that was founded in 1965 to support those with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus.  The association provides respite for families at Rebecca Cottage, a holiday home in a peaceful location that can accommodate 8 people. The property is in urgent need of renovation and updating to provide much needed additional specialist equipment.  The ACT Foundation were very please to be able to offer a pledge of £2497 to purchase a specialist nursing care bed for the accommodation.

November 2009 The Act Foundation were approached by Thomas, a 59 year old gentleman from Scotland who suffers from COPD and angina and uses a mobility scooter to get out and about.  The man explained that , due to the area that he lives, it would be unwise to leave the scooter outdoors overnight and that he needs the help of 2 other people to get the scooter out of his house.  A special scooter shed with a level access and doors that open outwards would allow Thomas to keep his scooter safe and dry.  He would be able to use it whenever he wanted to and without having to rely on anyone else for help.  The Act Foundation were very happy to grant a donation of £615 to purchase the shed.

For older news stories see our News Archive

ACT is a grant making charity. Here you can find out if you are eligible for a grant and if you qualify you can begin the application process.

Download:
ACT Foundation Annual Review 2009 389.61 Kb